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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · wind · bulb · branch · bear · spring · stock · press

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. spring — the season
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — a publisher
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — final
  7. stock — goods
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. branch — a division
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. last — to go on
  17. stock — shares
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — finally
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spring — of water
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com